Public Sector Governance and Risk Management Training Course

Participants can design practical structures that allocate authority, challenge and decision-making rights.

• Governance architecture linking boards, committees, executives and operational units
• Delegated authority matrices for expenditure, contracts and programme approvals
• RACI analysis clarifying responsible, accountable, consulted and informed roles
• Committee terms of reference defining remit, quorum and escalation
• Decision logs recording rationale, dissent, conditions and follow-up actions
• Reserved matters separating governing-body decisions from executive authority

Participants can establish integrity controls for conflicts, gifts, declarations and ethical decisions.

• Public-service values converted into expected behaviours and conduct rules
• Conflict-of-interest registers recording interests, mitigations and review dates
• Gifts, hospitality and outside-employment controls using approval thresholds
• Ethical decision-making framework testing legality, fairness and public scrutiny
• Whistleblowing arrangements protecting reporters and preserving investigation independence
• Fraud triangle applied to incentives, opportunities and rationalisation

Participants can select and tailor an enterprise risk framework for a public-sector mandate.

• ISO 31000 principles applied to public mandates and objectives
• COSO ERM components connected to strategy, performance and review
• Risk governance policy defining ownership, reporting and review cycles
• Risk taxonomy separating strategic, operational, financial and compliance risks
• Common risk language improving comparison across departments and programmes
• Risk management maturity assessment identifying process and capability gaps

Participants can define objectives and context before identifying material risks.

• PESTLE analysis identifying external drivers affecting public-service objectives
• Stakeholder mapping using power, interest and influence assessments
• Theory of change linking interventions, assumptions and intended outcomes
• Objective statements framed with measurable service, policy and fiduciary results
• Assumption analysis distinguishing controllable conditions from external dependencies
• Interdependency maps showing shared services, partners and critical suppliers

Participants can identify risks systematically from objectives, processes, evidence and stakeholder concerns.

• Risk workshops using prompt lists, scenarios and structured questioning
• Process mapping locating failure points, handoffs and control gaps
• Bow-tie analysis separating threat pathways, events and consequences
• Lessons-learned reviews drawing risks from audits, incidents and evaluations
• Horizon scanning identifying policy, economic, climate and technology signals
• Cause-event-impact statements written with precise and testable language

Participants can analyse likelihood, impact and uncertainty to prioritise management attention.

• Inherent and residual risk ratings distinguished through control assessment
• Likelihood scales calibrated using frequencies, evidence and expert judgement
• Impact criteria covering service, financial, legal and reputational consequences
• Risk matrices tested for rating consistency and decision usefulness
• Scenario analysis estimating plausible disruption and response requirements
• Risk velocity and persistence assessed for escalation and monitoring

Participants can create risk appetite statements that guide consistent operational decisions.

• Risk appetite linked directly to statutory duties and strategic objectives
• Tolerance thresholds defined for finances, safety, delivery and compliance
• Key risk indicators selected for early warning and escalation
• Red-amber-green thresholds calibrated against approved management actions
• Appetite statements distinguishing prohibited, cautious and opportunity-seeking activities
• Escalation protocols triggered when exposure exceeds stated tolerance

Participants can build decision-useful risk registers with ownership, controls and treatment actions.

• Risk register fields linking causes, events, impacts and objectives
• Named risk owners assigned authority, accountability and review responsibilities
• Treatment plans specifying actions, resources, deadlines and success measures
• Control descriptions separated from future mitigation actions and contingencies
• Residual ratings justified using evidence of control effectiveness
• Risk review calendars aligned with committees, budgets and programme milestones

Participants can design and document controls that prevent, detect or correct key risks.

• Preventive, detective and corrective controls matched to risk causes
• Risk-control matrices linking objectives, risks, controls and evidence
• Segregation-of-duties analysis identifying incompatible approval and payment roles
• Control frequency, owner, evidence and escalation requirements documented
• COSO internal control principles applied to public financial processes
• Control gaps prioritised by exposure, feasibility and compensating measures

Participants can assess financial governance risks affecting budgets, expenditure and public assets.

• Budget controls linking commitments, approvals, forecasts and spending limits
• Payment authorisation workflows tested against fraud and error risks
• Asset registers reconciled with custody, verification and disposal controls
• Grant disbursement controls linked to eligibility, milestones and evidence
• Revenue and fee collection risks assessed through reconciliation procedures
• Financial exception reports highlighting overruns, variances and irregular transactions

Participants can govern procurement and supplier risks through lifecycle controls and oversight.

• Procurement plans aligned with demand, budgets and approval thresholds
• Bid evaluation controls protecting fairness, confidentiality and documented decisions
• Supplier due diligence covering ownership, sanctions and delivery capacity
• Contract risk registers tracking milestones, claims, variations and dependencies
• Service-level indicators monitoring quality, timeliness and corrective action
• Contract closeout checks confirming deliverables, payments and asset handover

Participants can assess and treat fraud, corruption and misconduct exposures in public operations.

• Fraud risk assessments targeting payments, procurement, grants and payroll
• Corruption red flags identified through transactions, relationships and behaviours
• Anti-bribery controls covering intermediaries, gifts and facilitation payments
• Data analytics tests detecting duplicate payments and anomalous vendors
• Investigation protocols preserving evidence, confidentiality and procedural fairness
• Sanctions screening controls applied to suppliers, partners and beneficiaries

Participants can establish governance arrangements for complex public programmes and projects.

• Programme boards setting outcomes, tolerances, stage gates and accountabilities
• Business cases testing strategic fit, affordability and deliverability
• Gateway reviews challenging readiness before funding and implementation decisions
• Benefits-realisation plans assigning owners, measures and reporting schedules
• Change-control procedures assessing scope, cost, schedule and risk effects
• Project assurance roles separated from delivery management responsibilities

Participants can govern continuity planning, crisis decisions and recovery arrangements.

• Business impact analysis identifying critical services and recovery priorities
• Maximum tolerable periods of disruption established for essential functions
• Continuity strategies covering people, premises, technology and suppliers
• Crisis management teams assigned authority, communications and decision protocols
• Incident command structures coordinating operations, information and stakeholder updates
• After-action reviews converting disruption evidence into corrective actions

Participants can oversee information risks through ownership, controls and incident reporting.

• Data governance roles assigning ownership, stewardship and access responsibilities
• Information asset registers recording classification, retention and criticality
• Cyber risk scenarios linking threats, vulnerabilities and service impacts
• Access-control reviews testing privileged accounts and segregation requirements
• Privacy impact assessments identifying lawful processing and safeguard actions
• Data breach escalation procedures defining notification, containment and evidence

Participants can coordinate management, oversight and independent assurance without duplicated effort.

• Three Lines Model clarifying management, support and independent assurance
• First-line control ownership evidenced through routine management information
• Second-line monitoring plans targeting policy compliance and risk themes
• Internal audit independence protected through reporting and appointment arrangements
• Assurance maps comparing risk coverage, evidence quality and gaps
• Combined assurance plans coordinating audits, reviews, evaluations and inspections

Participants can use internal audit and audit committees to strengthen risk-based oversight.

• Risk-based audit planning using risk registers and assurance gaps
• Audit universe construction covering entities, processes, programmes and systems
• Audit findings rated by significance, root cause and management response
• Management action tracking recording owners, dates, evidence and overdue status
• Audit committee agendas focused on assurance, control and unresolved issues
• Quality assurance reviews testing audit methodology and reporting discipline

Participants can prepare concise risk reports that support oversight decisions and challenge.

• Board risk reports summarising exposure, trends, decisions and exceptions
• Risk dashboards combining indicators, ratings, actions and assurance findings
• Narrative reporting explaining drivers behind material rating movements
• Heat maps used cautiously alongside underlying evidence and uncertainty
• Exception reporting highlighting tolerance breaches and overdue management actions
• Committee papers structured with recommendation, rationale, risks and decisions

Participants can evaluate governance and risk arrangements and plan targeted improvements.

• Governance self-assessments testing structures, behaviours, information and accountability
• Key control indicators monitoring failures, exceptions and remediation progress
• Root-cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
• Management review cycles linking risk updates to performance discussions
• Maturity roadmaps sequencing policy, process, capability and system improvements
• Annual governance statements supported by evidence, disclosures and action plans

Participants can build, review and present a complete governance and risk management pack for a public-sector initiative.

• Mandate, objectives and stakeholder analysis consolidated into governance context
• Governance structure, delegations and committee terms documented for approval
• Risk appetite, taxonomy and escalation thresholds integrated within policy
• Risk register and treatment plan completed with named accountable owners
• Risk-control matrix and assurance map tested for coverage gaps
• Board risk report prepared with indicators, exceptions and recommendations
• Oversight committee presentation defended through evidence-based challenge responses